Purebloods, Pride and Prejudice
by logicube
Summary: Romance, humour, fluff, suspense, drama, action, adventure... and a bit of mystery on the side. Glitzy guys and greedy girls. Welcome to the world of Pride and Prejudice: Hogwarts style. HGDM, a bit of BZGW
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys Yay, I'm still alive! This fic has been sitting in my comp for a while, being written and rewritten, edited, scrapped, adjusted… you name it. And now, it's out. Hope you like my strange choice of characters, it was a bit hard to assign them all roles. Now enough said- read and enjoy .**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Nor do I own this plot... really, I own nothing. Kinda sad, innit?**

Chapter 1

_It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife._

When the man is also young, handsome, smart and pure-blooded, it is also a truth that many would-be wives must be in want of him.

Indeed, such a man was very sought after. Not a day passed without some giggling, scantily dressed girl approaching with sonnets of undying love. Sometimes, there'd be a bit of variety and it'd be a sleazy, oily guy approaching with psalms of praise and worship.

Such was life for Blaise Zabini.

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When word got out that Blaise was in fact, promised at birth to top socialite Deanna Diamante, there was a bit of an uproar. Only a little bit.

It was nothing compared to what happened next.

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_Dearest Blaisey,_

_Sugar-pie, how are you? I trust that you've received that simply delightful robe I sent you. Don't worry about its length- it's charmed to adjust to your size. I hope that you will understand that given the circumstances, it was the best that I could do._

_How's school life? As usual? I'm sure that Dumbledore has been taking wonderful care of matters at your school. If there are any problems just owl us and I'll send Dad over to have a little chat with your headmaster._

_Oh, and feel free to owl me if you need more dress robes. I hear that the prefects welcoming ball is coming up; you'll want to look your best!_

_Speaking of balls, this is the reason I owled you. I'm afraid that I'm the bearer of bad news. That sly, conniving, two-faced Diamante girl has eloped! Yes, eloped! With a bartender, of all people! I always knew that those pub visits would be the end of that girl. Why that slippery, back-stabbing son-of-a…_

_Oh honey, I'm so, so sorry to have to be the one to tell you the horrible news. My poor Blaisey, snubbed! By a Diamante no less! I will have to have a serious chat with your father about those people._

_Oh, and please don't get too upset. Mummy will sort it all out for you, ok?_

_Your loving Mummikins_

Snarling, Blaise crumpled up the piece of parchment and hurled it across the corridor.

"And a good riddance to you!"

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_Late! She was never late! _

Cho was running down the transfiguration corridor, sleek black locks flying and book-bag trailing along. Her normally spotless robes were wrinkled and crooked and her prefect badge was falling off. She was cursing her alarm clock when she slipped on a crumpled piece of parchment lying on the floor, skidding along for a couple of metres before landing in an undignified heap. She promptly started cursing the piece of parchment.

That is, until she got a closer look at it.

She could just make out 2 words scrawled along the top. _Dearest Blaisey._

"What the…?" Cho, being a naturally gossip-loving girl, was always open for new rumours to spread. And anything to do with Blaise Zabini made an especially delicious story.

Now Cho was not one to leave good gossip lying around. She had to know it, and she had to know it _now_. So she unfurled the piece of parchment and began to read…

_A few minutes later…_

Blaise Zabini. Dumped. Single! Yes- Blaise Zabini, one of the leading contestants in the 'top ten hottest guys' polls, the filthy rich, dreamy, all-around good-guy bad-boy Slytherin. Oh, her nerves were all a-flutter! Just thinking of all the possibilities…

By this stage, Cho's mind was wandering a great deal. If the reader had been able to look inside Cho's mind, they would have seen something like this…

_Blaise Zabini. THE Blaise Zabini. Broken up with his girlfriend, which means he must be single now… money! Wealth! Think of how envious everyone else would be if I could just snag him…. I could even get to know a few more Slytherins! I can smell the power. To think, GIRLFRIEND of Blaise Zabini, why even Malfoy wouldn't be able to oppose me then! Girlfriend of Blaise…_no wait, I mustn't abandon Harry._ THE Blaise Zabini. Think of the power…_But… but…_ Think of the connections! _I… Harry… no, wait!..._I could just get him to fall madly in love with a person in my group… Lavender or Pavarti wouldn't object much… _I suppose… _Then I must go and tell them now!_

Conveniently forgetting her book-bag in her haste, Cho rushed along the corridor, her mind filled with dreamy fantasies of money and power. Oh, life was sweet!

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She returned several moments later to pick up her book bag and go to class.

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_That night, in the room of requirement…_

5 giggling girls gathered together, eager to hear the newest gossip. President Cho, her new-found gossip in hand, was feeling especially smug. She couldn't wait to break her brilliant news! Unable to contain herself, she fidgeted impatiently whilst they made themselves comfortable on the conveniently provided bean-bags. Then she cleared her throat, sat up straight, fixed her prefect badge, lowered her glasses (which she had bought for this sole purpose), put on her stern, I'm-the-president-so-all-of-you-shut-up face… and squealed. Very loudly.

The meeting was adjourned.

"Gals, you will NOT believe what I picked up today! I bet that it's like, fully better than anything else we're gonna get, so listen up. Oh my gawsh, I still can't believe my, like, wonderfully fantastically splendiferous luck. This news is the best, like, totally!"

2 pairs of eyes met hers in rapt attention. The other 2 were currently flicking lazily through magazines that had conveniently appeared 2 seconds ago.

"Ok. This is it. The big one. Wait for it… BLAISE ZABINI'S BEEN DUMPED."

Now 4 pairs of eyes were suddenly focused on Cho. The magazines, forgotten, simply melted away.

"What?"

"When?"

"How do you know?"

"You're making this up, aren't you?"

Cho was a bit peeved at the last comment. Making this up? How dare Pavarti accuse her of making it up! Sniffing, she continued.

"I know…" she paused, glaring pointedly at Pavarti, "because I have here in my possession, a letter. A particular letter, in fact, from Mummikins to _dearest_ Blaisey. A letter that tells me that Blaise Zabini is single once more."

The room felt that dramatic music was required. So it played some dramatic music.

"So now that you're all listening, here's my plan: for one of you gals to secure him as yours. One of youse is so gonna get him, like totally! I mean, how could he miss how fully hot all of you are?" Cho thought it a good spot to smile widely. So she smiled widely. The other girls took as a sign to smile widely too. Any passers-by would have seen a room full of grinning girls.

"So you know the prefect ball that's coming up? I'm gonna dare all of youse to go have a dance with him. And that means all of you. Including Hermione." All 5 heads swivelled towards Hermione's spot. Except, of course, she wasn't there.

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Hermione Granger, her newly acquired glasses askew and cheeks flushed, was hurrying down the corridor, when she was suddenly pulled sideways into the Room of Requirement. Perhaps it felt that she was required to be there.

But her momentum carried her forward and she kept going, running smack-bang into the doorframe. She looked up to see about a hundred faces swimming about her, staring in horror. On closer inspection, the 100 faces merged into 1 and a shock of red hair swam clearly into view.

"Ginny…?" She reached up in wonderment, accidentally poking someone in the process.

"No, it's Padma." Now, Hermione was genuinely confused. Sitting up, she realized with a jolt that there wasn't 1 person sitting in front of her. There were 5!

"Hermione… are you feeling okay…?" Ginny's concerned voice brought her back to reality. Smiling widely at her friends, she gritted out a yes, wishing that the incessant pounding in her head would stop.

"Oh, good! Because now THAT's settled, I have something of great importance to tell you." Cho's voice cut into her thoughts. "Something so new, so wonderful, so, like totally, unexpected! And, oh, did I tell you gals? We're the only people who know."

"Blaise Zabini. THE Blaise Zabini. Has been dumped!"

Hermione blinked.

"So…?"

"SO? Don't you realise what this means? It means that he's single! And I'm daring all of YOU to dance with him at the upcoming ball. Yes Hermione, that means YOU."

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**A/N: Hum. Pretty crappy place to stop the chapter. But I know you'll all read the next chapter anyway, WON'T you…? Hmm…? Lol**

**Yes. Just a note: I don't currently have a beta for this story so if you're willing to help me beta just say so in your review. Forgive me for any patchy grammar or iffy wording. Oh, and if you could give me some tips on how to make Cho talk in a more convincingly ditzy manner, I'd be very happy.**

**Another note: since I've already gotten a story outline, this fic should be updated a bit sooner than my previous fics. So hang in there- work on chapter 2 has already been started.**

**And please read and review. Tell me how you think the story is going. If it's too disjointed or short or long or if it's moving too quickly/slowly. Give a bit of constructive criticism. You could just make my day **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Yes, little old me is writing fanfics when she should be doing assignments… heh.I don't want to upset my readers by leaving it for too long…**

**Well, hope you enjoy this chapter! Please read and review or just comment a little.. this chapter may seem a bit dodgy but I need a filler in between the first chapter and the ball…**

**If anything seems a bit choppy its because I've been desperately trying to make this chapter a little bit loner. Hope it's worked ok… fingers crossed…**

**Thanks to: Feather-Quill1, the-girl-trapped-in-a-dream, Janangel and awindsor84. I'm glad you liked it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I do not own the characters. I do not own the plot. I do not own anything, it seems. Boohoo

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Chapter 2

"Has anyone seen my prefect badge?"

"These shoes are too tight! Do you think I should just go barefoot?"

"Ow! I think I burnt myself! I knew straightening my hair was a bad idea…"

"Cho, Pavarti stole my prefect badge!"

"Don't be stupid! Everyone knows that you can't burn yourself on a hair straightener… here, I'll show you… OW!"

"Cho!"

"See, I told you!"

"Cho!"

Cho continued to blow-dry her hair. However, when the hairdryer couldn't block out the din any more, she decided that she had had enough.

So she screamed. Boy, did she scream! A girl like Cho knows how to be heard.

"Girlfriends, SHUT UP! You gals have no sense of respect for my poor nerves!"

Everyone looked up, momentarily disrupted. There was a brief silence. Then…

"Pavarti stole my prefect badge."

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5 hours, 38 minutes and 52 seconds later… 

Ginny, being the good-natured witch she was, had let all her friends prepare in the bathroom before her. Now, in her new shimmering green robes, she allowed Hermione to twist her long red hair into a complicated braid.

She could feel Hermione's apprehension about the upcoming ball; her hands were trembling as she slowly and deliberately brought up each lock. However, Ginny refrained from prying, instead contenting herself with rubbing the places where Hermione had accidentally poked her wand.

Besides, she would tell her everything in her own time.

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Sure enough…

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"Ginny…?" 

"What is it, Hermione?"

"You know, I have a bad feeling about dancing with Blaise. You know… he's a Pureblood and a Slytherin…"

_So _that's_ what's worrying her…_"Don't worry Hermione. I'm sure that he's a perfectly nice person. He won't mind that you're muggle-born."

"But I've heard rumours that he'll be bringing along some friends from _Durmstrang_, and you know their reputation…"

"Hermione, relax! It's just a rumour. I'm sure that Durmstrang students are perfectly nice."

"No, no…" Hermione wrung her hands distractedly.

"Besides," continued Ginny, "look at how nice Viktor was!"

Upon hearing this name, Hermione hurriedly tossed the last of Ginny's tresses on top of her head.

"There. All done. Time to go!"

Ginny thought it would be wise to drop the subject. So adopting a lighter tone of voice, she rolled her eyes at the mirror.

"Now, to let everyone else pass verdict on how I look." She bit her lip worriedly. "I hope I look OK… this IS an important ball, and Mum will want photos…"

"Ginny." Hermione rolled her eyes. Ginny always looked fantastic, and this time was no exception. "You look fantastic! You have nothing to worry about." That much said, she took Ginny by the arm and dragged her out of the room.

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Meanwhile, Pavarti, Lavender, Cho and Padma were waiting impatiently in the corridor. 

"How long does it take the pair of them to get ready?"

"Too long… like, 10 hours, you know?"

"I reckon… you'd think that they might be like, you know, doing stuff…"

"You idiot, of course they're doing stuff! What else would they be doing?" Here, Padma fumbled for her next words. Because she was a Ravenclaw, and an extremely conscientious one at that, her statements had to be fitting for a person of her superior knowledge.

Cho, being Cho, caught her stumble.

"Please stop embarrassing yourself, Padma. If you can't think of anything to say, then, like, don't say anything! Du-uh!" Padma opened her mouth to retort angrily. Lavender and Pavarti looked on interestedly. Watching the pair of them cat-fighting was such an educational pastime!

Thankfully, further arguments were halted by the entrance of Ginny and Hermione.

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"Oh. My. God." 

Padma was struck dumb. Lavender and Pavarti looked on jealously as Cho turned on Ginny. Hermione hid a knowing smile.

"Oh. My. God. Ginny, my darling, you look, like, soooo wonderful! Oh, my nerves are all a-flutter- you'll be sure to get Blaise's attention! He'll take one look at you and he won't be able to resist! Those robes bring out the colour of your eyes purr-fectly, and the hairstyle and… and… it's just all so… _wonderful…_ I'm so pleased for you…" _Of course, it gives me a bit of a chance to stick my butt into those rich, pure-blooded circles too. Mmm._

With that delicious thought in mind, Cho trooped off towards the Great Hall.

Of course, everyone followed her.

Everyone, except for Hermione.

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When Hermione was sure she was alone, she turned to the nearest wall and thumped it. Damn Ginny and her bringing up Viktor! She knew he was taboo! Damn Cho and her little games! Forced dances with Blaisey-poo indeed… who did she think she was, resorting to such… such petty tricks! 

She wanted to get out of this mess, but then again, she couldn't walk out of a ball specially held for prefects like herself…

Hermione thumped the wall in frustration. She did this again… and again… slowly and methodically, going first up one brick and along three then down one brick and along three. Up one along three, down one along three, up one along three, down one along three, up one along three, down one along three… it was really quite therapeutic. In a frustratingly repetitive sort of way.

_I'm such an idiot. Why on earth did I agree to go to this ball in the first place? On second thoughts, I don't think I ever agreed to participating in Cho's little game at all. Then why am I doing this? I'm such an idiot. Why am I worrying about dancing with Blaise if I haven't even agreed to do it? But Cho will be able to twist my words so that it will seem like I agreed even if I didn't. Why on earth did I agree to this in the first place? Why was I such an idiot? But I don't think I agreed at all… I'm confusing myself. Why is this going around in circles?_

"Why is everything so screwed?"

Whereupon the wall turned beady eyes on her and said meaningfully, "You may find that the library holds the answers to all of your questions."

Hermione gave a small gasp of surprise. She was being mocked! By a wall, no less! Unthinkable! Huffing, she turned her back and walked (or tripped over her high-heeled feet) away.

"And I can assure you that the walls there will enjoy your assaults a great deal more than I do!"

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**A/N: So… what did you think? Good? Bad? Crappy? I thought it was crappy… hehe I guarantee that the next chapter will be better. Hopefully.**

**Well, I still need my beta. And I'd still appreciate constructive comments. And even reviews are nice… if anything, they boost my ego :D.**

**Wow. My chapter looks alarmingly short. Well, read and review anyway and see you all next time.**

**P.S. I just realised that I've uploaded my 2nd chapter about a month after the first. New record! Yay!**


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